Give Beilein Credit -- He's Keeping Michigan's Top Recruits

New Michigan Men's Basketball Coach John Beilein had a very tough test he had to take when he took over for Tommy Amaker to lead the Wolverine program. He had three top recruits (Alex Legion, Manny Harris, and Kelvin Grady) that he had to convince not to abandon the Wolverines for another school now that the coach that recruited them was gone. And so far, according to reports, he is 2-2 with a hat trick on the horizon.

As Brian over at M-Go-Blog has chronicled, both Harris and Grady have officially announced they are reaffirming their commitment to come to the University of Michigan. While Alex Legion has not fully made up his mind yet, the re-commitments of Harris and Grady are giant steps in the right direction and Mark Synder at the Detroit Free Press reports that

Shooting guard Alex Legion has not made his decision yet but his mother told the Free Press on Wednesday that discussions with the current coaching staff were progressing well and they were working toward a decision."

I have to give Beilein a lot of credit. When he was first hired at Michigan, one of the things which worried me (and a lot of other people) was that he had no ties to the Midwest, no ties to Michigan (he had never even been to Ann Arbor) and that recruiting was going to very very difficult faced up against powerhouses like Tom Izzo and Tubby Smith and the rest of the Big Ten. But, I'll fully admit when I'm wrong, and Beilein convincing Grady and Harris to stay at Michigan, with hopefully the same decision coming from Alex Legion in the coming days, shows me a lot. Sure, these players loved Michigan and Ann Arbor anyway, and may have returned no matter whom Michigan hired to replace Amaker, but this wasn't a slam dunk. Beilein had to sell himself to these athletes and their families, and obviously they liked what he had to say. And who wouldn't want to play in a system which scores a lot of points and shoots a lot of three-pointers.

The true test, of course, will come next season with Beilein heads into the homes of kids throughout the state of Michigan and the Midwest and perhaps elsewhere too (my colleague over @ MLive.com, Chris Burke, reported in his Diag Blog yesterday that a 4-star guard from Florida is strongly considering Michigan due to the Beilein hire) and sells the University of Michigan basketball program, but more importantly, himself to families and players. But convincing Grady and Harris (and hopefully Legion) to remain with the program was a very positive step in the right direction, and for a man who has questions surrounding his ability to recruit, it is a very positive sign for the future.

Michigan Hires John Beilein -- Great Tacticion but the Wrong Choice?

The University of Michigan Men's Basketball coaching search is over. After firing Tommy Amaker two weeks ago, Michigan, led by Athletic Director Bill Martin, undertook a methodical coaching search which focused primarily on one candidate, the man they hired today, John Beilein, formerly of West Virginia. And while there are plenty of reasons to like the move, I have serious questions as well.

I hate to be so negative because, well, I have been negative throughout this process and I don't want to continue to be that way. The years of losing has made me completely apathetic towards the basketball team and that angers me most of all, because I would have loved nothing more than for my seven years here to be filled with memorable trips to Crisler Arena. Instead, while we did have one big win over Michigan State which I attended a few years back, my undergraduate and law school time on campus has been spent mainly ignoring the Michigan basketball team. I haven't missed a football game in six years (going on seven) and I even had season tickets to Michigan hockey my sophomore year of undergrad, but I can count the number of Men's Basketball games I attended on one hand. And that's really too bad.

Which is why I have spent a lot of time focusing (some would say obsessing) on the Michigan head coaching position this off-season, first arguing for Tommy Amaker's dismissal then becoming frustrated at the slow progress in naming a replacement (especially once Tubby Smith, a man I still contend would have been perfect for this job, signed up to coach Minnesota). I won't bring up my desire for Tom Crean again (oh, wait, I guess I just did) but I will talk a little bit about the man hired for the job, John Beilein.

There are a lot of reasons to like Beilein. First, the man can flat out coach. No matter what else is said about him, he is a skilled basketball tactician and gets the most of the talent which he has in front of him. He knows the game inside and out and is one of the more cerebral coaches around. He also has won before, and won at places where winning would seem to be difficult, like West Virginia. In recent years, Beilein has been to an Elite Eight, a Sweet Sixteen, and this season, won an NIT title with a team most thought would be a .500 team at best. He also has a sterling reputation as an upstanding citizen and community leader, who genuinely cares about his players and who won't take shortcuts in recruiting or any other facets of the game (in that way, admirably, he is just like Amaker who for all his faults on the court as a coach was about as perfect a program ambassador as you could want off of it).

Sounds like a lot of positives. And there are a lot of things to like about Beilein. Espeically given my complaint that Tommy Amaker was not a great on-the-court coach who never got the most out of his players and never helped them develop their games, taking their potential and turning it into talent. Beilein won't have that problem and if anything, will likely get more out of his players than people would otherwise think was possible. So, why am I so hesitant? One word. Recruiting.

In college basketball, you live and die, in large part by the players you recruit. And while Beilein is known as a coach that can get the most out of his players even if they aren't the most talented team on the floor, that kind of coach would not be first choice if I thought that he would be unable to recruit against the other powerhouse programs in the Big Ten. Beilein has no ties to the Big Ten or the Midwest, which is going to hurt him, at least at the start of his Michigan career. And he's never been known as a great recruiter to begin with, though, in his defense, recruiting players at West Virginia can't be an easy task. But look at the coaches in the Big Ten Beilein has to recruit against. Tom Izzo at Michigan State. Thad Matta at Ohio State. Tubby Smith at Minnesota. Todd Lickliter, new head coach of Iowa, formerly the very successful coach of Butler. Ralph Sampson at Indiana. Bo Ryan at Wisconsin. The list goes on. All competing for players in the same geographic area of the country, all gunning for one another. When you hire a coach who doesn't have a strong history recruiting, you better be sure he can coach on the floor, because fighting amongst those Big Ten coaches for players is not going to be easy.

Maybe Beilein will be the right fit. And given that Michigan Athletic Director Bill Martin better focused in on Beilein seemingly to the exclusion of most everyone else tells me there is obviosly something about Beilein that really stood out for Martin. He surely will be able to improve Michigan's current players, and turn them into better players than they were under Tommy Amaker. The real question is going to be whether he'll be able to bring in new players in the future (and hold on to Amaker's great recruiting class coming in next season). As somebody who desperately wants to care about Michigan basketball again, I sincerely hope he can and he can turn the Michigan program around.

Latest on the Detroit Tigers and Michigan's Basketball Coaching Search

As March turns to April, the Detroit sports scene is heating up. Opening Day is just two days away, the University of Michigan finally looks like they may be focusing in on a potential new head coach, and both the Detroit Red Wings and Detroit Pistons get closer to the playoffs. With so much going on in the world of Detroit sports, it's almost hard to keep track of everything. So let's take a look at the latest goings on, see if we can't make some sense things.

Kenny Rogers OUT with Blood Clot: This was the first big story of the end of the week, first with the veteran left-hander being placed on the Disabled List with what was called a "tired arm", then having surgery less than 24-hours later to remove a blood clot from his shoulder and repair some arteries in the same area. Certainly the injury is not good news for the Tigers. Rogers, who many thought was washed up when the Tigers signed him to a two-year deal before last season, was a large part of the Tigers renaissance last year. Not only did he win 17 games, but his experience and his willingness to teach some of the younger Tiger pitchers (especially Mike Maroth and Nate Robertson, two fellow lefties) was invaluable. Now, with Rogers out until July at the earliest, the Tigers have to reform what was one of the strongest pitching rotations in all of baseball.

This is not to say the Tigers are completely lost without Rogers. Far from it actually. The Tigers have some of the best pitching depth in baseball, and Chad Durbin, who is currently handling Rogers' spot in the rotation, pitched very well this spring and had a great season at AAA last year. And if Durbin falters, the Tigers have a number of potential options to replace him, including rookie Andrew Miller. MLive.com's Danny Knobler was on WDFN's Stoney and Wojo Show yesterday and stressed that the Tigers would not hesitate to call up Miller if Durbin fails despite Miller's lack of experience. And as Danny rightly pointed out, if Miller comes up (or Durbin is successful) Rogers injury may actually help the Tigers by giving them more depth. Plus, assuming Rogers comes back healthy, he'll be fresh come August and September. It will be as if the Tigers acquired one of the best left-handed pitchers at the trade deadline. That will make the Tigers look scary to every team in the playoff hunt. The idea of bringing Miller up and having him gain a half-a-season's worth of experience sounds almost too good to be true. Even if he struggles, which would be understandable given he's never started a game at the minor league level, much less in the majors, the experience he'll receive will make him an even better pitcher and allow him to be more successful when he joins the rotation full time, likely next season.

Tigers and Carlos Guillen agree to 4 year/$48 million deal: In a move which team president Dave Dombrowski had to get done, the Tigers locked Carlos Guillen up long-term with a 4-year-deal. Guillen, who could have become a free agent at the end of the season, had said he did not want to negotiate during the season (because it would be a distraction) and losing him would have been a big blow for a team that is really building a team which can contend for a long, long time. Yes, Guillen has had a history of injuries, but he's also been, in many ways, the heart and soul of the Tigers infield, and a leader both on the field and in the clubhouse. With Guillen being locked up, and the previous extensions signed by second baseman Placido Polanco and third baseman Brandon Inge, the Tigers infield is set for years to come. And with Curtis Granderson maturing in center, outfielders Cameron Maybin and Brent Clevlen waiting in the wings in the outfield, and Pudge Rodriguez recently declaring he wants to catch until he's 40, the Tigers could be set for a long, long time, and they could be World Series contenders well into the next decade. Kudos to both Dombrowski and Guillen for getting this deal done, not having it be a distraction during the season, and ensuring the Tigers future is successful.

Michigan locks in on West Virginia's John (don't call him "Jim") Beilein: Last week, I knocked University of Michigan AD Bill Martin for not moving fast enough in picking a new head coach for the Michigan Men's Basketball Team. Late this week, news broke that Michigan was focusing in West Virginia's John Beilein (mistakenly I called him "Jim" in this post originally, which while got me the top Google result under "Jim Beilein" is something I should fix) while also looking at Southern Illinois' Chris Lowery and Vanderbilt's Kevin Stallings. While I've often said I want Marquette's Tom Crean, Beilein would be a good choice to replace Tommy Amaker. He has turned West Virginia of all places into a perennial tournament team, making it to back-to-back Sweet Sixteens before graduating most of his top talent. This season, he led the Mountaineers to an NIT Title despite most predications that his team would be in the bottom half, or even bottom quarter, of the Big East because of the talent he lost.

He would also be expensive. He has a $2.5 million buyout from his current contract, and Michigan would have to open up the checkbook Beilein's yearly salary. And, again, if Michigan is willing to pay so much for Beilein, why weren't they willing to pay the same for Kentucky's Tubby Smith, now at Minnesota? No matter who the Wolverines hire, letting Smith get away was a huge mistake. And there have been questions about how great of a recruiter Beilein is, though, some of that is likely because he was coaching at West Virginia (no offense to those reading from WVU). With the Big Ten full of powerful coaches recruiting against you (Tom Izzo, Tubby Smith, the list goes on) maybe somebody with a better track record of recuriting would be best. But, at the same time, Tommy Amaker had a great history of recruiting at Seton Hall, and yet, that did him little good at Michigan, so maybe that isn't the best way to pick a head coach.

Chris Lowery, of Southern Illinois, is a heckuva candidate too. I almost like him more than Beilein. NCAA Tournament success. Success recruiting in the Midwest. Almost 20-years younger than Beilein. Could be someone who will turn Michigan around and be the face of the program for a decade or more. It's not an easy choice, because I understand the attractiveness of Beilein as a candidate. Smart, tough, gets a lot of production out of not a lot of talent (like he did this season) and he's had just as much success in the NCAA Tournament. I'd be happy with either Beilein or Lowery. Let's just hire one already so I don't have to worry about it anymore, okay?

What is the University of Michigan's Men's Basketball Team Waiting For?

I really am a fan of the University of Michigan athletic program. I know it doesn't seem like it reading the posts in this blog, but I do want Michigan, especially its basketball team, to get better, and get better fast. But the way they are handling their search for Tommy Amaker's replacement is just so, well, non-existent. While teams like Minnesota are hiring Tubby Smith (who, as previously mentioned, would have been perfect for Michigan and it was a huge mistake to miss out on him) and Iowa is at least trying to woo Bruce Pearl away from Tennessee (albeit unsuccessfully), Michigan has done absolutely nothing. And I'm getting very impatient.

There's a very interesting subplot to the Pearl rumors too. According to the Detroit Free Press, even though Michigan has not contacted Pearl about their head coach opening, Pearl, unsolicited, brought his own name into the mix.

"There are some jobs that are open," Pearl told the AP last Friday. "Iowa and Michigan are both jobs that in a different time and a different place -- like I said, I worked my whole life to be at a place like Tennessee. I was a Hawkeye for a long time. I've recruited Michigan well for years as an assistant at Iowa and a head coach at Southern Indiana, and here and (Wisconsin-) Milwaukee. I've always recruited Michigan. Those are opportunities that you certainly try to get to, but I'm here. I'm in the SEC. I'm at Tennessee. I go to work every day trying to reward Tennessee for bringing me here."

As the author of the Pearl story, Mark Snyder, points out, this isn't the first coach to mention Michigan, despite Michigan not mentioning anyone. Ernie Kent of Oregon did the same thing last week. So is Michigan talking to anyone? Not according to the Detroit News.

Southern Illinois' Chris Lowery , Vanderbilt's Kevin Stallings and Butler's Todd Lickliter -- rumored to be candidates for the Michigan job -- all saw their seasons end in the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16. However, none have been contacted by U-M.

What is Michigan waiting for? For Iowa to hire the coach Michigan may have their eye on? For Kentucky to hire their first choice and leave us with the leftovers? Now, I am all for a deliberative process that looks at all the top candidates, conducting interviews, numerous interviews of the same candidate if need be, and makes an ultimate determination on who the best man for the job is. But, that isn't what Michigan is doing here. They are wasting weeks and not interviewing anybody. In the meantime, they've lost Tubby Smith, and if they wait much longer, they will lose other top candidates too.

And in the meantime, some great recruits who have committed to Michigan, including Alex Legion and Michigan's Mr. Basketball Corperryale Harris, have to be getting restless wondering their head coach is going to be. And everyday, their phones have to be ringing off the hook with opposing coaches trying to recruit them away from Michigan, telling them that Michigan obviously doesn't care much for the future of their basketball team. True or not, Michigan's inaction certainly will feed into that perception.

So what should Michigan do? Well, not to repeat myself again, and again, and again, but Michigan should hire Tom Crean (another guy they apparently have not even considered talking to, which is mind-boggling). At the very least, they need to, you know, talk to potential candidates. Because at some point, and that point will be here soon, it will be too late, and the top coaching candidates will be gone or no longer interested, and even worse, our top recruits may be gone with them.

Michigan Drops the Ball -- Tubby Smith to Minnesota

The University of Michigan Men's Basketball Program has done it again. And just when I thought they were on the right track when they let Tommy Amaker go. The University of Kentucky's Tubby Smith, one of the best coaches in college basketball, is leaving UK to take the job at, drum roll . . . . . . Minnesota. Great. This, of course, is not good for Michigan on a variety of levels.

First, it means Tubby Smith was available and we failed to get him. Michigan should be one of the premier jobs in college basketball. But, it's not. Which, is understandable given the scandals, dilapidating stadium, lack of practice facilities, and the losing. But, it's not like Minnesota is, well, Kentucky. Yes, Minnesota has been a decent program, but they are no stranger to scandal and certainly the school does not have the history and legacy of the University of Michigan (yes, this is me being an arrogant Michigan fan for a moment -- But, c'mon, this is Minnesota, not Duke or North Carolina or UCLA). I'm not even saying Michigan is above Minnesota in terms of attractiveness of the job, but we certainly can't be much worse.

If Tubby Smith was available, and obviously he was (he took the Minnesota job) then there's no reason why Michigan should not have paid whatever it would have taken to sign him. He would have instantly given the basketball program the credibility it lacks and would have been exactly the kind of big-name, energizing new coach which would instantly get the student body back into the basketball team. Sure, there were some at Kentucky today who are now happy that Smith is gone, and were never satisifed with his performance following Rick Patino, but let's not downplay what he did. He won a national championship. He made the NCAA Tournament every year he was at Kentucky, and won almost 200 more games than he lost in the past 10 years. He's about as close to a sure thing as far as a coaching candidate goes as you can get. Which is why Minnesota agreed to pay him $1.8 million a year according to ESPN.

The double whammy part of the Smith move is that now, the Kentucky job is available, and it instantly becomes the most sought after job in college basketball. ESPN's list of candidates is jaw-dropping.

According to sources, Marquette coach Tom Crean, Michigan State's Tom Izzo, Memphis coach John Calipari, Gonzaga's Mark Few, Notre Dame's Mike Brey, Texas' Rick Barnes, Texas A&M's Billy Gillispie and Villanova's Jay Wright are expected to be candidates for what is one of the few premier jobs in men's college basketball.

Let's take Izzo's name out of contention right now (I can't imagine he would leave Michigan State for Kentucky...I just can't see that happening) but even so, Michigan is now going to have to compete and outspend Kentucky if they want a top candidate, and they won't. If they weren't willing to pay for Tubby Smith, I can't see them doing the same for Tom Crean or Mike Brey or anybody else Kentucky might also want. If you were a coach, where would you rather go? To Kentucky, where basketball is king, or Michigan, where even the Fab Five had a tough time displacing Michigan Football as king of the university? Basketball will always lag behind football here, and Michigan may not be willing to pay a basketball coach more than what they are paying Lloyd Carr. And that is going to mean they might not be able to attract the quality of candidate they really want. Plus, another Big Ten team just became a lot better, which will make recruiting harder and Big Ten play tougher.

The ante has been raised for the University of Michigan. With Smith off the board, and Kentucky sure to spend the money and attract the top talent to their university, Athletic Director Bill Martin has to step up, open the purse strings, and hire the right guy. Unfortunately, for Michigan, the "rightest" guy (to butcher the English language) is now a Golden Gopher.

Michigan Makes Right Move -- Fires Tommy Amaker

The Detroit Free Press is reporting that the University of Michigan has fired their Men's Basketball coach, Tommy Amaker, after six seasons as head coach.

I'm honestly stunned. Despite writing last week that I wanted Amaker gone, I had no expectation that Michigan would actually fire him. Athletic Director Bill Martin is always hesitant to get rid of coaches, and Amaker's wife Stephanie is powerful within the University and is very close to University President Mary Sue Coleman.

Yet, Amaker is gone. And it's the right move. I've said before (and I'll say it again) that I have a tremendous amount of respect for Amaker. He is as good of a representative for a program as you can have. Great in the community. Great recruiter (though he never lived up to his lofty recruiting reputation here). Great ambassador for the basketball team and if the University was serious about raising money to rebuild or renovate the ailing Chrysler Arena (which they desperately need to do) he would have been the perfect pitch-man and leader of that effort.

Unfortunately for Amaker, on the court, he just couldn't get the job done. I won't rehash all of the same points I made from my post last week, but needless to say, players did not improve under Amaker's watch and the team languished in the world of the NIT, never making it to the true March Madness.

What likely made the decision easier was that Amaker lost his team, which seemed unthinkable a few weeks ago. Players, obviously frustrated with going to the NIT, again, sounded off publicly.

"You're always happy to keep playing, but nobody wants to play in the NIT,'' senior Lester Abram said. "It's just something you have to do.''

It also probably didn't help Amaker that only 3,100 people showed up to Crisler Arena to watch their first round NIT game against Utah State. And perhaps, more than anything else, that indictment sealed Amaker's fate. Because, besides the lackluster on the court performance, there is no doubt that the Michigan basketball program, where the Fab Five once seemingly ruled the basketball world and not just Ann Arbor, is dead. Interest is basically non-existent in the student body. While Lloyd Carr garners anger and wrath from football fans when the Michigan football team struggles, the basketball program is saddled with something even worse than fan anger. Complete apathy. Sure, there was an underground movement to oust Amaker, but most Michigan basketball fans simply didn't care whether Amaker would return. And there aren't that many Michigan basketball fans left to begin with, as evidenced by the sad NIT turnout.

Michigan Basketball needs a coach to come in and not just turn the program around, but turn the student body around and get students excited about basketball again. Sure, winning games will help, and will get fans back and interest heightened, but a coach can do more than that. A coach can bring an energy and enthusiasm all of his own making. As I've believed for years, that man should be Tom Crean, currently of Marquette, formerly Tom Izzo's top assistant at Michigan State. I honestly don't believe there is a better man for the job. Now that Michigan made the right move by firing Amaker, they must make the right move in hiring the next head coach.

Otherwise, the program will never turn around.

Late Afternoon Update: ESPN has a list of potential replacements, and sadly, Tom Crean does not appear on their initial list.

According to ESPN.com's Andy Katz, some of the names up for consideration to replace Amaker include Washington State's Tony Bennett, Southern Illinois' Chris Lowery, former Golden State Warriors coach Mike Montgomery, UNLV's Lon Kruger, West Virginia's John Beilein, Xavier's Sean Miller, Cal's Ben Braun as well as ESPN analysts Rick Majerus and Steve Lavin.

Katz also reported that Kentucky coach Tubby Smith could be a candidate, if he's available.

It's not that I mind the list of coaches ESPN has. Montgomery and Lowery are especially good candidates. And if Tubby Smith becomes available, he would be a natural choice. Ben Braun is another great candidate. He coached for 11 seasons at Eastern Michigan and made the NCAA Tournament with them three times. That's pretty impressive. On the other hand, Majerus and especially Lavin scare me. Majerus is a great coach, don't get me wrong, but I don't know if he's got it anymore. And Lavin is not the face of the program I'm looking for. Too Hollywood.

And another name Michigan fans bring up a lot is alumnus and very successful NBA coach Rudy Tomjanovich. I love Rudy T. I wanted the Pistons to hire him numerous times. But, with all due respect, he's done. His last stint with the Lakers was a disaster, and he lasted less than half the first season. If we needed a guy to take us over the top, and turn is from a Sweet 16-type team to a championship team, he's the guy. But, to build a program? He's not that guy. At least not anymore.

Michigan almost beats Ohio State -- So why am I relieved?

My University of Michigan Wolverines almost pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the college basketball season on Saturday, taking #1 ranked Ohio State down to the wire, even leading with minutes to go, before, predictably, falling apart in the final minutes of the game. The win would have given Michigan victories over Michigan State, Indiana, and OSU in the past few weeks and likely would have given the Wolverines a birth in the NCAA Tournament. Plus, beating hated rival Ohio State, knocking them down from the top ranking in college basketball, would have made the win even more sweet.

Yet, even though I wanted Michigan to win, and even though I was disappointed in their loss, I wasn't bitterly disappointed. And I wasn't as into the game, cheering for the home team, as I should have been. That's because, deep down, I don't really think I wanted Michigan to beat Ohio State. Sacrilege? Maybe. But I have a justification.

As the Michigan basketball program has stayed muddled in mediocrity the past few seasons, I have become convinced head coach Tommy Amaker is the wrong man to lead the Wolverines. Don't get me wrong, Amaker is a fine coach. And how he brought Michigan out from underneath NCAA scandal and probation, doing all the right things off the court, being a great representative of the program and the school, is commendable. But, on the court, Michigan is a disaster. Players simply do not improve under Tommy Amaker. If they are decent when they show up as freshmen (like Daniel Horton) they stay decent. If they are raw and have untapped talent when they arrive on campus (like Brent Petway), their full potential is never realized.

While Amaker may be pristine off the court, his inability to get the most out of his players, and improve their abilities is inexcusable. Petway is a perfect example. The kid can jump out of the gym, and has more raw athletic ability than any player I have seen in a long, long time. He even shaved the design of the Michigan football helmet into his head for the OSU game. Now that's dedication. But, on the court, Petway has still yet to fully develop as a player, and still looks as unpolished as the day he started as a Wolverine. Courtney Sims, the Wolverines big man, should be a dominant player, but he's not, and likely never will be under Amaker's tutelage. If there's one thing college coaches should be good at, it is helping players develop their game, and Amaker simply isn't good at it. Sure, he may be popular with the athletic department, and his players, and he is a good recruiter (though he hasn't lived up to the expectations he created when he was able to get one of the top recruiting classes in the country at Seton Hall before he was hired at Michigan) but that shouldn't be enough. At Michigan, nothing other than winning should be acceptable. And failing that, simply having your players show progress in their career would be encouraging. We've seen neither from the Amaker regime.

So who do I suggest the Wolverines hire to replace Amaker? Marquette's Tom Crean. Crean has created a great program at Marquette and let's not forget he recruited and coached Dwayne Wade. Not only that, but Crean has experience in the state of Michigan, having attended Central Michigan, and, more importantly, having been Tom Izzo's top assistant at Michigan State. Despite a down year for the Spartans this season, they still rule the basketball courts in the state of Michigan, and Izzo continues to dominate both in-state recruiting and bragging rights. Who better to take him down and restore the Wolverines to prominence then the man who coached under Izzo for four seasons and was his top assistant for two of those years? Plus, Crean has proven he can lead a successful program both in the regular season (he has had a winning season every year he's coached at Marquette) and the tournament (he reached the Final Four in 2003).

Tommy Amaker assuredly would have saved his job with a win over Ohio State (and likely would have clinched his first NCAA tournament birth as Wolverine head coach). He most probably has saved his job regardless. But, Michigan shouldn't be so lackadaisical with their basketball program. They need to think seriously about the future of their program, and should Tom Crean be willing to listen to a pitch to come back to the state of Michigan, they should explore it. Otherwise, Michigan will continue to be stuck in neutral for the foreseeable future.